Transparency has become just another buzzword to some in government these days.
A few years ago, before it ever became a government buzzword, I launched a project to make the details of how government spends money readily available and transparent to citizens in South Carolina.
As the state’s comptroller general – more commonly described as its chief financial officer – it seemed only natural to me that South Carolinians ought to be able to see the full picture of how government officials are spending the public’s hard-earned tax dollars.

I live in a large development in Indian Land, and have York Electric Cooperative as my distribution provider.
On Saturday, March 9, York Electric made a number of computer-generated calls to multiple customers here to inform us that they would be coming around this neighborhood soon to install “smart” meters. As it turned out after making a call to their office, “soon” meant Wednesday or Thursday of the upcoming week.

For the third year in a row the saucer magnolia in our backyard lost hundreds of ready-to-open blooms to sudden below-freezing night temperatures.

According to Steve Bender writing in “Southern Living,” this is a situation that regularly occurs about two springs in three. Still, it is very disheartening to see the lovely waxy buds that are pinkish-purple outside and white inside turn an unlovely brown. The poor tree will keep trying to replace the frozen blooms for months.

Quantifiable data shows that reducing stress and brain fatigue is as simple as taking a walk in the park.

According to a study by researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh, people who live near trees and parks have lower levels of stress hormones and improved concentration. The study appeared this month in The British Journal of Sports Medicine.

In 2010, Vincent Sheheen lost the South Carolina governor’s race to Nikki Haley by the slimmest of margins – 51.4 percent to 47 percent.

The Democrat senator from Camden, who represents a portion of Lancaster County in the S.C. General Assembly, announced Wednesday, April 10, that he is once again running for governor of the Palmetto State.

Sheheen, who has represented the state’s 27th District since 2004, is the first candidate from any party to officially announce a bid for governor.

INDIAN LAND – Red Ventures co-founders Ric Elias and Dan Feldstein said attracting, appreciating and taking care of the company’s talent is the secret to its success, and they’re doing exactly that with the company’s new employee amenities building.

Elias’ comments came during a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, April 11, for the new four-story, 180,000-square-foot building, the third structure on Red Ventures’ 33-acre headquarters complex in Indian Land’s 521 Corporate Center Park.